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On September 13th, Cultivando gathered community members, health professionals, educators, and Adams County staff and elected officials at an elementary school soccer field a few miles north of Denver. They gathered to celebrate something frontline communities are seldom able to celebrate – a win against the oil and gas industry.
This win saw an operator walk away from the planned expansion of an oil and gas facility due to public opposition from a grassroots campaign organized over the course of only a few weeks. It is a testament to Cultivando’s incredibly talented staff and the power residents can have to protect their communities.
It is also, unfortunately, another case study in how the state of Colorado’s leadership is failing to live up to its commitments to environmental justice. Here’s what happened:
In July, the Commerce City community discovered that Magellan Midstream had applied for permits. The plan was to expand their Dupont oil storage terminal with a number of new large storage tanks to increase fuel storage capacity. For many, including even the staff at the elementary school that sits across the street from the facility, there was no consultation or notice from Magellan or the state of Colorado. Outrageously, some only found out about the plan after they were contacted by local media for comment.
Not only is this facility immediately adjacent to an elementary school, it is also located in a residential neighborhood considered a disproportionately impacted community (DIC) by the state of Colorado. DICs are communities that “experience higher levels of health harm” than other Colorado communities. They are also often “home to communities of color and low-income families” according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
One of the “health harms” this community is unduly subjected to is air pollution from Magellan’s existing facility. The storage tanks the facility employs have the potential to release highly toxic compounds like benzene and toluene. To make matters worse, constant tanker truck traffic to and from the facility results in a steady stream of diesel exhaust emissions.
Expanding the facility would increase these and other dangerous impacts on nearby residents and schoolchildren.
Earthworks Optical Gas Imaging footage of a release of pollutants from one of the storage tanks on the facility that is right across the fence line from nearby homes
In other words:
Despite the potential additional impacts to health and quality of life posed by this project,
Despite legislation and rules that are supposed to ensure that Colorado addresses the injustices faced by DICs,
And, despite the fact that Coloradans have for years pleaded with CDPHE and other state agencies to prioritize their health and safety,
Community members were given no forewarning and were not meaningfully engaged in the decision making process until Cultivando, the school district, and local officials got involved.
If Cultivando had not organized the community and uplifted their voices, it is almost certain this expansion would still be moving forward through the state’s permitting process and would have ultimately been approved.
So, this is a major victory for public health and for the Commerce City community.
At the same time, it is a failure of state leadership.
Colorado has made a lofty commitment to environmental justice. Yet, that commitment is still primarily realized, when it is realized at all, as a result of communities having to fight to have their voices heard and concerns addressed. This reality is unacceptable, and the time is long overdue to start listening to Colorado’s frontline communities.
